


Ocean Eyes

by kylinwrites



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: A lot of pure fluff, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Characters and Tags will be added as story progresses, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fist Fighting, M/M, Mermaid Performers, Mermaids, Merman Lance, Mermen, Side Shatt/Miro, Side lotura, What's fluff without some angst amiright, aquarium, bit of a slowburn, pain mention, waiter keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-03-28 13:17:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13904793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kylinwrites/pseuds/kylinwrites
Summary: Keith starts his new job as a waiter in the Mamora Aquarium's restaurant. Lance is a merman performer for the aquarium. Keith's encounter with the merman leaves him hopelessly confused, possibly in love, and overall an absolute mess.Modern AU with fluff overload pretty much.





	1. First Day

Keith opened the door to the employee’s entrance and scanned in his employee I.D. The second door in front of him made a clicking noise once it unlocked, allowing him access to the Mamora Aquarium. The dark haired boy placed his jacket, wallet, and other valuables into his locker in the nautically themed breakroom. Other employees were walking about, preparing for another long day of work. Keith retrieved his black waist apron and tied it in position. He took out his name tag and pinned it to the front left side of his white dress shirt. He rolled the sleeves up to his elbows and ruffled his hair a bit in the small magnetic mirror inside the locker. After passing his self-evaluation, he closed the door and scrambled the lock. 

“Welcome to your first real day, whippersnapper.” A man with a big ginger mustache addressed to Keith, who in turn looked over at him. The man (his name tag read ‘Coran’) showed him around the aquarium restaurant yesterday, going over basic instruction. Coran was a family friend who helped Keith get his desperately needed new job. 

“Morning Coran,” Keith replied and double checked his apron pocket, making sure he had his waiter wallet. 

“I’ll have you work over in section 4 since it’s closer to my area so I can answer any question that may pop up into your noggin. I’m sure you’ll do just alright though!”

“Thanks, Coran.” Keith nodded his head and watched the man walk over to another waitress. Keith walked out of the break room and into the restaurant.

The restaurant was one of the best decorated and upkeep one Keith has ever worked in. Fake plastic fish hung from the ceiling, giving the illusion of swimming schools above the guests’ heads. Pillars reached as high as they could go were lined with fake colorful coral and plastic aquatic creatures. On the left was a huge tank full of fish, their scales shining from the aquarium’s lights. Keith remembered eating here as a kid with his adoptive brother’s family. He remembered walking up to the tank and watching the swimming sea life in pure awe, imagining him in there with them. He remembered holding onto his shark stuffed animal he had bought at the gift shop with the money he saved up for a whole year. His older brother Shiro kept “feeding” fish to Keith’s shark, making him crack a smile when he made his shark bite Shiro’s hand in retaliation. 

Keith looked at the small labeled map taped to the front podium, making sure he knew where section 4 was and wrote his name on another paper next to his occupied section. Amy, one of the other waitresses, walked up to the podium and wrote her name next to her section. Keith stayed silent as he began to wipe down tables and set up chairs. He heard someone’s boisterous laugh coming from the upper level, where the aquarium part ended. Up the stairs were the stingray petting bays and face painting booths. Keith looked at his watch in slight confusion when he saw the aquarium didn’t open for another 30 minutes. When he looked back up the stairs, he saw a couple workers goofing around and dismissed his concern. There was a girl with long, white hair sporting a red macaw on her shoulder. She fed him an occasional treat as he moved around and talked. She was talking to another person, a tall guy with hair just about her length, neatly braided on one side and pulled back into a ponytail. The long hair didn’t look half bad on him. Keith disconnected his attention on the other workers and walked into his section as his first day was starting. 

___

Keith dropped off a small kid’s cup of apple juice to a little girl sporting green painted scales on her cheeks. He checked his watch, counting the last 60 minutes of his shift. He returned to the kitchen and placed his tray to load it up with another table’s finished orders. He balanced the tray on the palm of his left hand and walked over to a patiently waiting family. He handed each person their respectfully ordered meals and asked if they needed anything else. The aquarium's intercom buzzed.

“Attention Mamora Aquarium guests! Our mermaid show will be starting shortly in the aquarium! Don’t miss your chance to see the beautiful mermaids of Mamora!” 

Mermaid show? Keith didn’t remember Coran mentioning a mermaid show. Keith made his way to a newly emptied table and began cleaning up the dirty dishes. He heard a couple kids gasp and excitedly clap. Keith carried the dirty dishes back into the kitchen and made his way back into the restaurant. His attention immediately turned to the huge tank and stopped his movement in surprise. A girl took in a deep breath and dove into the water, a shiny purple tail propelled her elegantly through the water. Although it was pretty, something else caught Keith’s attention. From the other side of the gigantic tank, another performer with a mesmerizing greenish-blue tail took a deep breath, taking Keith’s along with it. The performer was a tan boy with short brown hair. He swam in sideways circles and blew a stream of bubbles when he did. He went to the surface for a quick moment before diving back down and swimming over to the little kids pressed against the glass. He smiled and pressed his hand to his lips before pulling it away and creating a kiss of bubbles. The kids laughed each time he did. A little girl pressed her hands to the glass and gasped as the merman did the same, his hands pressed against hers. Keith noticed the silver tiara resting against the merman’s forehead, a little blue gem dangled over the middle crease of his eyebrows. His cheeks were lightly dusted sparkly blue makeup, reflecting the lights ever so slightly. The merman’s tail was the most breathtaking piece of the costume. The tail hugged his long legs perfectly. Hip fins and heel fins danced along with every one of his movements and matched the fluke, which reached out in ridges and displayed lines of dark blue, ombre shades of light pink to the greenish-blue, and small white dots lined the natural curves of the fin. Keith couldn’t even describe how the fin moved in water, barely comparing it to seaweed dancing in gentle currents but even that didn’t do a justice to it. The mermaid locked his hands with the other mermaid as they pushed away from each other and swam backward into a circle. 

Keith’s trance was interrupted when someone waved for his attention. He rushed over and apologized, placing the check on the table. He checked on a few of his other tables before watching the merman again. He swam up for air, this time taking a little longer than he usually did, before diving back down and waved to all of the little kids to finish up his performance. Divers helped the performers hold onto the emergency floats and lead them to the back hidden edge of the aquarium. Keith took in a deep breath, making up for the past 30 minutes he spent neglecting his lungs. Coran patted the boy’s shoulder. 

“Excellent work today, young padawan.” Coran chuckled at his own reference and headed to his designated section. Keith glanced at his watch and began to head back to the break room.  
___

Keith sat in his car and counted out the tips he received. Compared to previous jobs, this one already brought home more. Keith slipped his money back into his wallet and turned on his car. Images of the merman invaded Keith’s thoughts on the drive home. His blue eyes, his hair, his chest, his hands, everything he had an increasing need to feel for himself. He turned up the radio in an attempt to drown his thoughts out. It didn’t help the song was comparing love to the ocean. It only added the mess Keith was getting into.

_ _ _

Lance slipped out of his mermaid tail and laid on the cool floor of the dressing room for a moment. He ran through his after-performance stretch routine and stood up to dry himself off. All the while, he sang to the pop song playing through the speaker. Once his shorts and tank top were back on, he slung the tail over his shoulder and walked out of the room. He spotted Allura and gave her a quick wink, receiving a disappointing eye roll in return. Lance watched Lotor grab Allura’s full attention and huffed in response. 

“No no no no...” Lance spoke under his breath and headed straight for them. “He isn’t gonna have it his way.” 

Lance took the empty seat at the tiki smoothie hut Lotor worked at and leaned himself against the bar, his blue eyes on Allura. “Would you care for a fine smoothie? Not as fine as yourself, of course.” Lance put on his smooth face. Allura sighed. 

“Sure, why not. Get me a smoothie, Lance.” She half smiled. Lance’s eyes widened. 

“Really!?” 

“No, sorry. I appreciate the offer, but I’ll pass on this one.” At least she let him down easily. 

“Can I get you something, Lance?” Lotor offered.

“Just get me a strawberry with a side of sexy. Oh wait, I’m already here.” Lance winked at Allura and shot her his signature finger guns as he stood up, re-adjusted the tail on his shoulder, and headed for the door. On his way out, he saw the dark-haired waiter walking out to the parking lot. 

He was a new guy. Otherwise, he would know the secret employee parking lot. Lance smiled and headed for his car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This AU is based on my experiences with the Denver aquarium and their wonderful mermaid shows. I don't think this AU has been done yet and I'm very excited to share this. 
> 
> [Lance's tail](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1514/5632/products/silicone_tail_large.jpg?v=1489419339)


	2. Strawberry

The next day started the same as the last: clock in, get ready, write your name in your section, and wait for the aquarium to open. Keith sat in one of the front booths where he could see the top of the stairs easily. His pen danced along the white note paper in his waiter’s wallet, constructing random shapes and lines that turned into an underwater scene. A figure at the top of the stairs caught Keith’s attention. He looked up to see the white-haired girl again, this time she had a different bird on her shoulder, but Keith wasn’t educated enough in the subject to make out what species. He heard an airbrush being messed with from the face painting booth and someone shrieking in scared surprise. Then came that laugh he heard yesterday. Little things like that were weird to hear when the aquarium was practically empty. Even though Keith could safely say this was his favorite job yet, it definitely was a loud one.

“Well don’t just sit there like a diddly-dopper, go meet some people! Go up there!” Coran nudged Keith’s shoulder, getting him out of the booth.

“I have to stay at the-” 

“Don’t worry about it, you have time before it opens, my good fellow!” Once Coran managed to get Keith up a couple steps, he split off and continued his set up routine. Keith bit his lip and made his way up. The massive glass windows on his right overlooked the aquarium’s front entrance, where a line of people already began to form. Light from the summer sun bounced off their cheeks and the shoulders of tank top wearers. Little kids impatiently messed with anything they could in attempt to cure their boredom. Keith was one of those kids once. 

At the top of the stairs, Keith glanced over the scene. A shallow waist-high pool contained stingrays, their light tan flippers occasionally splashed the edge of the pool. A woman with long pink hair pulled back in a tight pink ponytail help small fish at the edge of the pool. A stingray would swim up to her and take the food offering, then she repeated the process. 

“Allura!” Another worker holding paperwork ran up to the white haired woman. “Did we get the immunization records for the tiger yet?” 

“Yes, they were suppose to be delivered to the medical bay office.” The woman took the papers, scanning over their contents before handing them back. “Yeah, they should be there.” 

“Thank you!” The man ran back into an employee access door. 

“Oh? Looks like we have a visitor.” A guy behind a tiki themed drink stand said. Keith looked over at him as the bird lady walked over.

“You must be the new guy. My name’s Allura and I the director of the avian exhibit.” Keith shook her outstretched hand. 

“Keith. I work in the restaurant.” His introduction wasn’t the friendliest, but it did the job. 

“Alright, Keith, what made you want to work here?” Genuine curiosity hinted on her slightly accented voice. The green bird on her shoulder rubbed his face against her cheek and make a cooing-like noise. She held up a treat to his beak and he accepted it happily. Shiro’s mom owned two parakeets around the time Keith met her. Shiro would try to get them to sit on his finger, but never succeeded the task. 

“Coran is a family friend. I needed a job and he needed a waiter.” The dark haired boy crossed his arms over his chest and leaned on one leg. The smoothie machine on the tiki cart cut through the quiet air, Keith took it as a hint. “I gotta get back to work.” 

“I’ll see you around, okay?” Allura smiled, waved bye, and began walking through the last exhibit. Keith walked back down the stairs and stood by the podium. The aquarium’s recorded opening played through the outside speakers and families started coming in. 

___

Keith’s collided with another waiter as he rushed into the break room. He quickly apologized, but a big hand gripped his shoulder. 

“Watch where you’re going next time, dumbass.” The bigger man said and released his grip. Keith brushed the off the comment and grabbed a rag, dabbing it against the spilled water on his shirt. Thank god it was only water. He started unbuttoning his shirt and opened his locker to retrieve a backup one. It wasn't his first rodeo. After fixing himself, he grabbed his tray and walked into the restaurant. He made his rounds refilling drinks and filling other miscellaneous requests. His second day was going by a lot faster if it was even possible to. Despite the easy day, Keith couldn’t stop his stomach from doing small flips whenever the intercom came on or someone gasped. Subconsciously, he knew the reason, even if he denied it himself. He checked his watch and bit his lip when the time drew closer to 5 pm. A little girl talking about a mermaid show stole perked Keith’s attention. Then the intercom came on with the same message as yesterday. 

“Attention Mamora Aquarium guests! Our mermaid show will be starting shortly in the aquarium! Don’t miss your chance to see the beautiful mermaids of Mamora!”  
Keith looked up the tank, and sure enough, the show was starting, except the merman from before wasn’t swimming this time. The purple mermaid was there again, but she was accompanied by a pink mermaid. Keith’s released a sigh and distracted his disappointment with a new group of customers. From the glances he made at the performance, the girl’s weren’t nearly as interactive as the merman was. They went up for air more frequently and only did small tricks. He had to give kudos to the girls though, he knew he would never have the guts to do that. The show ended a little later and so did the dinner rush. Most of the customers were older and more likely on dates. Keith delivered margaritas to a table and saw a group of people around his age sit down at a table in his section. Keith dropped off a check and headed to the new table.

“My name’s Keith and I’ll be your server for today. Can I start you all off with a drink?” He offered almost instinctively. Keith looked up and almost had a mini-heart attack. The merman was sitting there in front of him. 

“I’m trying to get my friend Hunk to try this wicked amazing drink but he's too much of a chicken. So, I’m going to take the Hurricane and a water.” A person wearing an aquarium employee uniform requested. She had hair that defied gravity and huge round glasses, perfectly sitting on the bridge of her nose. Her name tag read ‘Pidge’.  
“Says the one who won’t try octopus.” A bigger guy, Keith assumed was named Hunk, teased. “I’m gonna go with a coke.” 

Then the merman spoke, “I want a virgin strawberry daiquiri, please, and can I get an extra strawberry with it on the rim?” 

“Why do you always have to be so extra?” Pidge poked at him and chuckled. The boy dodged her finger and laughed. 

“I’ll have it all right out for ya’ll.” Keith finished and headed to the kitchen. He posted the notepad page on the order wheel and started getting waters and soda. Once the daiquiri was out, Keith places the drinks on his tray and grabbed an extra strawberry, slipping it onto the rim of the boy’s cup. He returned to the group and handed out drinks. 

While they decided on their dinner, the sun began to hide behind the mountains and allowed the lights to heighten the atmosphere of the restaurant. Keith overheard parts of their conversations as he grabbed receipts and cleaned up tables. The merman was pointing out fish in the aquarium and stated their names. 

“What’s that fish riigghhhtt there?” Pidge squinted one of her eyes closed and pointed at the glass. 

“Where’s ‘there’? There’s like a million fish!” Hunk looked in the general area her finger was pointed but remained confused. 

“That’s a grouper, he’s a small one though. They get huge when they’re adults.” The caramel-skinned boy stated. 

“Okay then, what about that one!” 

“That fish? His name is Jeff and he’s an asshole.” His comment made the other two laugh. Keith walked over.

“You guys ready to order?” 

“I want the octopus and squid plate, please. Oh, and add extra soy sauce!” Hunk excitedly ordered. 

Pidge was next. “I want the fish and chips basket.” 

“And I’ll take the fish tacos.” The merman smiled. Keith wrote it all down and picked up the menus. He said something along the lines of “I’ll have it all out shortly” and walked over to the computer. As Keith started to input the order, one of the waitresses, Nyma, approached him. 

“I know this is only your second day, but I really need someone to cover for me tomorrow? I have to be at the hospital all day.” She asked.

“What time?”

“My shift is from 4 pm to 10. Saturdays are really busy though...” 

He thought for a minute. “Yeah, I’ll cover it.” He replied and finished with the computer. 

“Thank you so much!” Nyma pushed her hair out of her face and headed for the breakroom. Keith loaded the group’s orders onto his tray and made his way to deliver them. He handed each person their plate and sides. They thanked him and he went to wait on another table. Keith occasionally glanced at the merman, watching him laugh at a joke or make a dramatic gesture at something. 

At the end of their dinner, Keith dropped off the receipt. After they placed their money on the table, they stood up and stretched.

“I’ll see you around, Keith.” The merman smirked and started walking towards the door with his friends, leaving the dark haired boy a blushing mess. Keith felt his heart beating abnormally hard and took a deep breath to calm himself down before he began cleaning up the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates for Ocean Eyes will be weekly on Mondays! Thank you so much for the positive response so far, this feels amazing and I'm so glad to bring this to life. Stay cool my dudes. - kylinwrites


	3. Routine

Lance hummed to a song playing through his earbuds as he walked through the exhibits. The dull employee hallways didn’t give Lance any inspiration, so he walked this alternative route every morning. He stopped in the tunnel room, going over his routine in his head. Lance worked three shows daily, two of them, one at 10 am and the other 2 pm, were in this exhibit. His gaze followed a green eel moving across the bottom of the tank and into his little crevice. Stingrays glided happily across the sand where groups of small fish dug around for scraps. He knew every species of fish that lived in this tank, having swum with them more times than he can count. The song he was listening to ended and Lance continued his walk. 

Mermaid Cove was a dressing room and lounge area where performers hung out in between shows. When Lance arrived, he sat down at his makeup station. He applied a thin layer of soft blue eyeshadow along his cheeks and drew in a scale-like pattern, doing the same to his shoulders, watching the glitter reflect the lights above. To finish off the top portion of his costume, he slipped on a silver tiara above his ears and rested it on his forehead. He reached beside him, picking up his custom-made tail and carried it into the dressing room. To protect the scales and paint, he placed down a towel on the floor. Lance started the process by stripping down to his Speedo shorts and applying a thin layer of coconut oil to his legs. He slipped one of his legs into the silicone tail, finding the monofin and strapped his foot securely into place. He lowered himself onto the towel and carefully secured his other foot into the fin. The fit was tight and took lots of practice to master, but at this point, Lance was an expert. He laid flat on his back and started to carefully roll the tail over his legs, the coconut oil helps it glide along his skin smoothy. The end product resulted in a full tail hugging the bottom half of his body perfectly.  
His slender arm reached up and pressed a button in the dressing room, alerting the aquarium volunteers that he was ready. A moment later, a girl rolled in a cart decorated to resemble an aquatic pedestal and helped him into it. The girl pushed the cart through the employee hallways and onto the tunnel exhibit’s catwalks. The Cuban boy moved from the edge of the edge of the catwalk, letting his fluke gently sink into the salty water.

“Good morning, Maui!” Lance smiled at the green sea turtle poking his head above the water. The turtle swam closer, investigating the events taking place and slipped back under the protection of the water. Two divers lowered themselves into the water and held out red lifeguard floaties for the mermaids. Plaxum, Lance’s show partner, slid herself into the water and held onto the diver’s floaty. Lance followed, the water hitting his bare skin and sending excited chills throughout his body. The show music, an orchestrated piece, started playing and cued the two merfolk. Lance took a breath and submerged himself in the water. An all too familiar sting hit his eyes once he opened them, but it was never as bad as he anticipated. He twirled in a circle before swimming up to the half pipe of glass. Parents stepped back as their kids ran up to the glass, giggling and smiling at the merman. Lance waved at them and blew air bubble kisses. Some of the kids did it back at him and giggled. When his lungs demanded it, he went back up to the surface and caught his breath. On his next dive down, the merfolk swam up to each other and began their performance routine, swimming in circles with each other, doing bubble ring contest, and other choreographed pieces. Saltwater fish swam all around them as if they were dancing too. 

Lance loved his job with a burning passion and wouldn’t trade it for the world. 

When the show ended, he waved to his audience and swam to the edge of the catwalk. Two employees hoisted him out and set him on the cart. Lance reached for his towel before he got chilled. One show down, two more to go. 

When he was back in the dressing room, he kept his tail on and touched up his makeup before being wheeled out to the stingray bay. Employees helped him sit on the edge of the fake rocks for pictures. One by one kid, teens, and adults came and sat with him to get pictures. One girl was celebrating her 16th birthday and told Lance that her dream to see a mermaid performance and she finally got to go. He wrapped his arm around her for the picture and she gave him a huge hug afterward. Lance loved his job. 

At two, Lance did the same routine in the same exhibit as before. This time, the two performers held onto each others’ flukes and swam in a circle. 

Lance’s couldn't even begin to describe how he felt in the water. He felt free, that he wasn’t limited to the just the ground. 

The show ended and Lance slipped out of his tail this time, drying it off carefully and leaving it laying on the towel. He ate a snack and started his yoga routine. The shows were exhausting and he made the mistake before of skipping stretching and got bad cramps the next day. He developed a yoga routine to help strengthen his muscles and keep his flexibility. When he finished, he decided to bug Pidge in the gift shop. 

“What’s up, gremlin?” Lance teased and sat behind the cashier counter on a stool. 

“Oh my god I need to tell you about this one kid! He came in and knocked things off shelves as he walked around. When his parents wouldn’t buy him that $200 dollar octopus stuffed animal, he threw the biggest fit and threw it into the keychain display!” 

“Holy shit, how old was this kid?” Lance picked up a jellyfish stuffed animal and started playing with it.

“He was like seven or eight. A little old for temper tantrums. City kids, man.” Pidge rung up a customer as Lance switched out the jellyfish for a plush whale. When Lance looked up and into the restaurant, he saw Keith at the podium. His indigo eyes looking out of the windows lining the stairs. The sunlight reflected off his fair skin and eyes. Lance’s heart sped up.

“Lance?” 

The boy snapped out of his little daze, “What?”

“I was trying to talk to you? Oh wait, you were staring at your boyfriend again.” Pidge snickered. 

“Number one, he’s not my boyfriend!” 

“I deny that statement. You were watching him all night last night too.” Pidge smirked and grabbed a stack of clothes. She walked over to the display and placed them in their respective stacks. When she came back, Lance continued.

“I don’t even know him and I’m too busy for a relationship.” 

“Lier.” 

“I’m still hung up on Nyma.”

“No, you’re not.”

“I’m too young for a relationship?” This statement was more of a question than an argument. Pidge looked at him. 

“Really? You're almost twenty, Lance.” 

“I know I just… I don’t know.” Lance sounded a bit hopeless. Pidge handed him a blue rock candy stick. Lance took it and opened the wrapper.

“By the way, can you drop me off at the college when you get off work? I have to meet Hunk in the lab to finish a project.” 

Lance took a bite of the hard sugar crystals. “Sure, I’m going up that way anyway.” He looked back at the restaurant, only to see that Keith wasn’t in his previous spot.  
Lance wandered the gift shop, picking up overpriced toys and looking at the shirts. The octopus the kid had thrown was massive and detailed, but he agreed with Pidge that it was way overpriced. As he looked at the stuffed animals, he caught himself wondering what Keith’s was. It was stupid to think, he barely knew the guy. When he walked near the shelf of hippo stuffed animals, a weird feeling in his gut appeared, but quickly dismissed the thought and paid Pidge for the candy.

Once he reached the dressing room, he repeated the process again, but this time the show was in the restaurant's tank. Music began playing and Lance dove into the water, starting his solo performance. The water dancing around his skin was his escape, the bubbles were his muse, and the waves were his mantra. He blew heart shaped kissed his audience and spun in circles. He waved to the groups of kids pressed against the glass and even played patty-cake with a little girl. Lance was lost in the moment, portraying a character he loved to be. When the bass of the music failed to travel through the water, Lance gave one big last bubble kiss and swam up to the catwalk. He was wheeled back into the dressing room where he took off his tail, got dressed, and wiped off his makeup. Plaxum sat at her makeup station, drawing purple swirls and white dots on her cheeks. Another two girls were getting their tales laid out, preparing for the last show of the day, which was almost always reserved for the mermaids in training. Lance slug his jaw string backpack onto his shoulders and laid his tale over his right one. He didn’t favor the idea of leaving it at the aquarium. The thing cost him around a thousand dollars, plus he liked to practice in the pool near his house. He headed over to the gift shop. 

“Heya Pid-” 

Lance froze when he spotted Keith at Pidge’s register, purchasing one of the hippo stuffed animals. Lance continued to walk in, awkwardly sitting back on the stool. Keith looked up, causing his eyes to widen a bit upon seeing the merman. Lance’s face grew hot as he looked away. 

When Pidge completed his purchase and he walked out, she turned back at Lance with the biggest shit-eating grin. 

“Shut up, gremlin.” Lance pouted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter! 
> 
> For my Sweet 16, I got to meet a mermaid performer and got my picture with her. It was fascinating learning about the work that goes into these shows and the tails. I watched her performance in the restaurant as well and it was set to "Under The Sea" from The Little Mermaid. If you ever get a chance to see one of these shows, do it because it's so fun and fascinating.
> 
> So the fic is all written out and at a total of 10 Chapters unless I decide to add more stuff later on. I may release a Spotify soundtrack/playlist in the next update, still debating on it though.
> 
> As always, thank you so much for the support! Stay cool - Kylinwrites


	4. Chicken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the [Spotify Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/user/q41j3h9t1e9p9l4wi9fuiq2qc/playlist/4LMsFGwJmPvo31v1wU7Ymk?si=eEt7a9oLSSG9JiCd2IkWnQ) I'm working on for this fic!

Keith stayed in bed that morning. It was his first day off and he just woke up from a roller coaster of a dream, leaving his heart pounding and a tight melancholic feeling in his chest. All he remembers was the caramel-skinned boy. He was there laughing and talking to him. Keith remembers the boy’s voice and his hushed whispers against his own soft, fair cheek, but he doesn’t remember a word he said. The dream was intimate and private, expressing longing and difficult feelings Keith always tried to understand throughout his whole adolescent life. In the end, Keith decided to try and forget it by distracting himself with his brother’s texts. 

-Messages Shown: Yesterday-

(8:46 pm) Shiro: How’s the new job?

(9:23 pm) Shiro: Keith? You’re asleep, huh? 

(9:24 pm) Shiro: Goodnight Lil bro, text me in the morning.

-Messages Shown: Today-

(9:40 am) Keith: The job’s going well. The restaurant is neat.

(9:42 am) Shiro: I’m glad. Good thing Coran got you in.

(9:43 am) Keith: Yeah.

He placed his phone on the bedside table and sat up. His hands rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before bunching his hair up into a small ponytail. Clouds covered every inch of the city sky, filtering the light of his room in tones of grey. 

One he found the will to get out of bed, he shuffled into the kitchen. While he put together a bowl of cereal, he browsed Netflix to find his morning entertainment.  
Keith moved to Altea about a year ago. He dropped out of high school and spent most of his nights on friends’ couches. Eventually, Shiro let him move into his extra guest room for a few months. When Shiro started dating Matt, Keith decided to move out for the best. That’s when Keith found a listing for this apartment complex and moved in as soon as he could. The rent was cheap and the location was conveniently next to the community college, where Keith studied Zoology. He liked animals, but he just couldn’t pay attention and the stress built up from his job. Only a few months after, he dropped out. In the next few months, he job-hopped local restaurants till he talked to Coran at Matt’s birthday.  
Keith pressed play on a Cryptid hunting show and took his seat on the couch, cereal placed in his lap.

___

Keith spent the rest of his day running errands. With the bit of extra money he got, he bought himself a new pair of leather gloves. The other ones were heavily worn out, Keith’s excuse is that they were heavily loved. He returned home around dinner time and treated himself to some spaghetti. 

_ _ _

Pidge, Hunk, and Lance decided to throw a sleepover that night at Hunk’s house.

“It’s a tradition to play truth or dare! You can’t break tradition!” Lance argued while starting Mean Girls on Hunk’s T.V. No matter how many times he had seen the movie, it never got old. At least to him.

“Okay fine,” Hunk gave in willingly, “Pidge, truth or dare?”

“You knew me for how long?” She smirked. 

“I dare you to do the Kermit impression.” 

Lance bounced in anticipation as Pidge cleared her throat and began, “La de da de da, it’s the one and only D O double G, SNOOP DOGG!” The other two bursted out in laughter, barely containing their wheezing. 

“I’ll never get old of that.” Hunk wiped away a tear.

Pidge smirked, “Lance, truth or dare?”

“Dare!”

Pidge thought for a moment, “I dare you to wear your underwear outside your pants.”

“Is that all you got, Gremlin?” Lance took the challenge and walked into the bathroom. He fixed his outfit to meet Pidge’s requirements and come back out with his blue boxers over his jeans.

“This is only a warm-up, my friend.” She snorted. Lance stroke a pose, making sure it was very flattering.

“Hunk, your turn my man.”

“I’m gonna have to go with truth.” Hunk replied and waited for his fate.

“Would you rather only listen to a Kidz Bop version of Hotline Bling for the rest of your life or accidentally get pantsed at a Chuck-E-Cheese’s.” 

Pidge laughed boisterously at Lance’s choice of scenarios. Hunk took a moment and answered, “Hit me up with that Kidz Bop. Back at you, Pidge.”

“Give me another dare.”

“I dare you to prank call Matt.” 

“Oh hell yeah!” Pidge whipped out her phone, showing off a robot-themed case. She found Matt’s contact and called it under an anonymous extension. A few rings later, her brother picked up.

“Hello?” 

“Hello, my name is Veronica and I work for Adult XX-Express. I’m calling to confirm your order of 200 extra large condoms on speed order does that sound correct?” Pidge heard Shiro drop something and wheeze out a laugh in the background. 

“Pidge!?” Matt nearly choked. 

Pidge ended the call, sending the trio to the floor into another fit of laughter. They laid on their backs and looked up at the ceiling as their laughing calmed down with a happy sigh. 

“Lance, truth or dare?” Pidge asked in a relaxed tone of voice. Lance closed his eyes. 

“Dare.”

“I dare you to talk to Keith on Monday.”

Lance shot up, “Nope, no way.”

“Oh come on! It’s a dare, you have to do it!” 

Lance crossed his arms, “Not gonna do it.”

“Whyyyyy?” Pidge wined.

“Because.” Lance’s face grew warm. 

“Lance, we did agree to no chicken outs.” Hunk input, smirking at his argument. Lance growled.

“Fine, just because it was a dare and nothing else!” Lance kept his arms tightly crossed.

___

Monday came and Keith was on his break, poking at the leftover pasta with his fork. Nyma took a seat in front of him, an opened soda in her hand.

“Thanks again for covering my shift.” She spoke.

“Yep.”

“How was your first week?” She asked, trying to strike a conversation.

“It was fine. I enjoyed it.” Keith’s replied were short, not one for small talk. 

“That’s good. So, I was wondering if you are busy Friday night?” As she spoke, her fingers played with the rim of the red can. Keith looked at her.

“Sorry, I have plans.” He started packing up his lunch bag.

“Oh, then maybe some other time?” She offered, to which Keith declined and returned his bag to his locker. He straightened up his uniform and walked out onto the floor. His break technically wasn’t over yet, but just to his luck, a familiar orchestrated piece began to play over the speakers. Keith sat in an unoccupied booth and searched the tank for the merman. A few seconds later, a merman gracefully slid into the water.

Keith’s stomach flipped when he saw the other boy and watched his performance carefully, paying attention to every move. Something inside Keith drew himself to the boy, pulling at him, something that he felt last night in his dream. It was hard to suppress and even harder to ignore. He couldn’t watch it anymore. He stood up and walked over to a table and took their order. 

_ _ _ 

Lance could see him. He was right in front of him, finishing up his last cleaning rounds. His pale hands worked to wipe down table tops and occasionally tucked strands of loose hair behind his ear. Lance nervously messed with the strings of his bag. He knew Pidge was somewhere, watching to see if Lance kept his word. Butterflies in his stomach wouldn’t stop, each time someone walked out of the restaurant, Lance had the immediate thought to jump up. ‘You’re just going to say hi and introduce yourself, simple and easy.’ Lance looked up and froze with anxiety. Nyma, his ex-girlfriend that he was still low-key scared of, was walking this way. Lance’s adrenaline kicked in and caused his whole body to dart to his left and back up the stairs. 

When he reached the safe zone on top of the stairs, he looked out of the paneled windows and sported Keith already at his car.

“Shit.” He cursed to himself. 

“Chicken.” 

“HOLY SHIT!” Lance gripped the fabric over his chest as he practically jumped ten feet into the air. “DON’T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!” 

Pidge bursts into a fit of laughter.

“It isn’t funny!”

“Oh come on, it was pretty hilarious, and you owe me.” 

“What for?!”

“You didn’t talk to Keith. You’re a chicken!” She danced around victoriously, “You know the rules!”

Lance sighed and fished out a ten dollar bill, “You’re evil.” 

“Yep!” Pidge grinned and stacked the ten into her pocket. “Now, let’s pick up Hunk and go somewhere to eat, I’m starving.” She hopped down the stairs with Lance in tow and walked out into the dusk light.


	5. Dance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Reference for the Kelp Tank](https://www.yanatrip.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/SFO11201S-img-750-10.jpg)
> 
> [Music that plays during the last scene](https://youtu.be/SNJV_efUHZU)

Keith felt someone shove him out of the way, causing a chain reaction of him bumping into his locker and slamming it against his finger. He hissed in pain and heard Sendak let out a deep chuckle as he continued on. Keith bit his lip and told himself to leave it, that it wasn’t worth the fight. For the past two months, Sendak would pull stunts similar to this one. It started when he made Keith drop a drink out in the middle of the floor, then came the remarks under his breath criticizing everything Keith did. Each time something happened, Keith told himself to leave it and move on, something Shiro taught him when he used to come home from school early due to fights. 

Keith filled a small bag with ice cubes and addressed it to his finger, trying to get the swelling down before his shift started. Aside form Sendak, the past two months stayed static in terms of events. Shiro invited Keith over few times for dinner, which usually ended in an intense game of monopoly. Otherwise, Keith would hit the gym, go home, take a shower, watch t.v. mindlessly for an hour, and go to bed. Even as time went by as dull as it did, Keith’s longing for the other boy stayed his primary motivation to wake up every morning. 

Once the swelling went down on his pointer finger, he checked for any major injuries and found only early stages of bruising. He threw the bag into the trash and began his work day. 

_ _ _

“Okay, I can do it. I’m just gonna talk to him and that’s it.” Lance looked into his makeup mirror, talking to his reflection. The butterflies in his stomach were starting to feel uncomfortable just thinking about it. Every time Lance tried to talk to Keith, something got in the way. The next day after the ‘chicken’ incident, he tried round two of Operation Mullet, but his phone rang right before he made it down the stairs. His brother, Marc’s car broke down and he needed a ride to the auto store. A week later, Lance wanted to try again, so he walked into the restaurant for lunch, but came to find out it was Keith’s day off. Lance stilled stayed determined though, something inside him drew him to Keith for a reason. 

After his last performance, Lance washed off his makeup and waited by the giftshop for Keith’s shift to end. He distracted the stomach butterflies by browsing the keychain display Pidge worked on. Behind him, a little kid started crying, begging for a stuffed animal. When Lance listened the the drama for a bit before looking at the exit. Keith was already walking out the door. 

Lance felt a burst of adrenaline take over as he began running after him.

“Hey Keith! Wait up!” Lace called out. Keith stopped and looked back, watching the other boy catch up. Lance smoothed his hair back and collected his thoughts before holding out a hand, “The name’s Lance.” 

Keith’s eyes widened a bit in surprise before he turned the rest of his body to face the other boy. “Keith, but that was already established.”

“Keith’s a nice name, it fits you.” 

Keith’s entire being seemed to glow, his cheeks grew pink in the dusk light.

Lance noticed the way his eyes reflected the brilliant oranges and blues and how his hair shined, each strand resembling a thin, sharp edge of a blade. Lance felt his heart beat faster, demanding attention. 

“Thanks,” Keith slid his hands into the pocket of his red jacket, “You do a good job on your shows.” 

“Pfft, the ones in the restaurant are nothing compared to the other ones.”

“Other ones?” Keith furrowed his eyebrows. 

“In the ‘Under the Sea’ exhibit. Dude it’s like the main show! You have to come see me next time.” Lance pulled out his phone, “Here, give me your number. I’ll text you the details.”

Keith said his number out loud and Lance punched it into his phone. 

“Expect a message when I get home.” Lance promised. They both looked at each other. The moment of silence wasn’t awkward, in fact it was far from it. Keith’s lips ever so slightly curled at the ends. If it wasn’t do dim out Lance could have sworn it was a smile. He, on the other hand, couldn’t help but smile, ”We should hang out more.”

There is was, Keith’s smile decided to let itself be known, “That sounds nice.” 

Lance glanced at his phone, noticing the time, “Crap, I’m gonna be late. See you around, samurai.” 

“Yeah, I should probably go, too. Have a nice evening.” 

“You too, cutie.” Lance winked, causing a deep blush to spread across Keith’s cheeks. He watched Lance walk away this time, noticing the hint pride in every step he took. When Lance was out of sight, Keith walked back to his car and climbed in. After closing the door, he sat in a small moment of silence before his forehead gently met with the top of the steering wheel.

Keith opened his mouth to speak one word on his mind, “Lance.” It was said in a whisper, as if he was afraid to say it. Then he said it again, but louder this time. Then he began to laugh. One that came from the warmth in his chest, where his heart pounded like a trapped soul. That’s when he knew. He knew he needed Lance in his life. Every cell in his body was telling him so.

So he called Shiro.

_ _ _

Lance wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. 

He finally did it. He finally talked to Keith. 

“Take that, Pidge!” He shouted into the air triumphantly and started the car. Lance wanted to celebrate and he knew exactly where. But first, he needed to pick up his two best friends. 

___ 

“TELL US EVERYTHING!” Pidge screeched in the car. 

“And don't leave out anything!” Hunk added to the request. 

The trio sat in Lance’s car, driving on the highway with all the windows rolled down and music turned up.

Lance turned down the music and began to tell the story, starting with the kid in the gift shop. When he mentioned texting Keith, he froze.

“Lance?” Hunk questioned.

“Oh shit! I was supposed to text him!” Lance pressed the palm of his hand to his forehead.

Hunk let out a small laugh, “The next exit is ours anyway. Just say you didn't know you had to pick up your friend from college or some excuse along those lines.”

“Hunk, what would I ever do without you?” 

“You’d probably get lost in your own apartment on the way to the bathroom.”

“You’re not wrong,” Lance drove onto the next exit and headed down a long road. 

___

The group ended up just driving down to their place. Lance’s car pulled up into an old parking lot in front of a beautiful shoreline. Salt water that reflected the night’s stars and the full moon lapped at thin, white sand. 

“I’m gonna text Keith, I’ll meet you out there in just a second.” Lance pulled out his phone while Pidge grabbed her picnic basket and Hunk piled up blankets into his big arms.

(7:28 pm) Lance: sorry I had to pick up a friend 

(7:28 pm) Keith: It’s okay. 

(7:30 pm) Lance: okay the show times are 10 am and 2 pm in the tunnel exhibit monday through thursday and on saturday

(7:31 pm) Keith: No Friday?

(7:31 pm) Lance: fridays are my day off, so i’ll either come in and help the new mermaids or pick up a gig somewhere else  
(7:32pm) Lance: gotta go ttyl ;p

(7:32pm) Keith: Bye 

Lance held back a happy screech and climbed out of the car. 

“Who’s ready to party!” He called out and stripped off his shoes. The other two replied in whoops and did the same before setting up their late night beach picnic. 

_ _ _

Keith watched as kids pressed themselves against the glass tunnel, jumping in anticipation. When beautifully composed music flooded the tunnel, two mermaids dove into the tank. One of them being a blue-tailed merman. No matter how many times Keith had seen Lance in the water, it still took his breath away. The merman interacted with the kids, his short brown hair swaying in the water when he moved. Lance looked up at Keith, or at least what he could see of Keith, and blew a bubble kiss before heading to the surface. The choreographed moves were beautifully executed, mimicking the fluidity of water. 

A mother next to Keith gently let out a laugh, causing Keith to look over at her. Their eyes met and she spoke, “You like that merman, don’t you?” Her question wasn’t targeting, it was actually rather sweet in a way. Keith stuttered until she interrupted, “I can see it in your eyes. You look like a little kid in love.” 

“Yeah,” Keith replied and looked back at the merman, “I am.”\

Lance was right, this was an amazing performance. 

___

For the next few weeks, Lance would come in during his lunch break and chat with Keith, who conveniently had the same lunch. Keith would eat food brought from home and Lance would snack on a few things. Even as Keith stayed silent about his affection for Lance, Lance was a flirting machine. Keith had to admit, he thought it was cute. Out of the aquarium, they would text about the most random topics. Shiro picked up on Keith’s new phone-checking habit and picked on him for it. Matt was dying to meet Lance, but Keith held it off. 

A few weeks later, Keith got a text.

(6:01 pm) Lance: meet me at the tunnel 

(6:12 pm) Keith: why?

(6:13 pm) Lance: it’s a surprise ;)

As Lance instructed, Keith walked up to the exhibit. Only the said boy wasn’t there. 

(6:20 pm) Keith: where are you? 

(6:20 pm) Lance: go through the employee door 

Keith looked at his phone for a moment before walking through the door. Keith felt a pair of hands close around his eyes from behind. 

“Do you trust me?” Lance’s voice sounded like a melody in Keith’s ears. 

“You are so lucky, I was about to drop kick the hell out of you,” Keith replied in a lighthearted manner. 

“Do you trust me?” Lance asked again. Keith nodded. “Keep your eyes hut and follow me.” Lance removed his hands and held onto Keith’s wrist. He was lead out of the door and down into the exhibits. He heard the usual ambiance sound effects playing through the speakers, distant whale calls and other mysterious nautical noises. Keith heard a noise, followed by a curse slipping past Lance’s teeth. 

“What was that?” 

“Keep your eyes closed, I just stubbed my toe on a stupid bench.” 

“Idiot,” Keith smiled. 

Lance stuck out his tongue, in which Keith couldn't see as they walked even further. Eventually, Keith felt Lance grip his shoulders. 

“Stop here and turn a bit to your right,” Lance instructed. Keith did as he was told. “Okay, on the count of three, open your eyes. One...Two… Three..” 

Keith opened his eyes to a massive and breathtakingly beautiful tank, the glass reaching from the ceiling to the floor in four huge panels. Past the glass was a forest of green kelp, housing a collection of unique fish. The light coming in through the top realistically resembled sunlight, highlighting the vibrant colors that made up the scene. Keith’s hand covered his mouth ever so slightly as his eyes widened. He eventually walked closer up to the glass and pressed his hand against it. As if on cue, a small shark swam by on his way through the underwater forest.

“There goes Keith the shark,” Lance narrated. Keith looked at the boy in confusion. “Whenever we get a new animal, we take turns naming it. And I had the honors to name him.” A smirk took over Lance’s face. Keith smiled and shook his head. 

“You’re so dumb.” Keith felt his heart pound against his rib cage as he kept his eyes on Lance. His dumb, beautiful deep blue eyes looking at him and his stupid barely noticeable freckles kissing his cheeks. 

Keith looked beautiful in this light, stunning even. His pink lips were relaxed and more than kissable. Lance felt a sense of courage bubble in his chest, “Keith?” 

“Hm?” 

“Can… can I...” He couldn’t do it. 

“Lance?” 

A piano piece began to play over the speakers,“Can I have this dance?” 

Keith smiled, “Sure.” Keith slid his hand into Lance’s and placed the other on his shoulder as they began to gently sway, mimicking the kelp behind them. A minute into the dance, Keith moved closer and laid his head on Lance’s shoulder, wrapping his arms around Lance, who in return, did the same. They held each other close as they drowned in the peaceful silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is the theme from the movie Splash (my all time favorite movie in the world).  
> I want to say thank you for the support I have gotten! I love reading the comments I get on it. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I'll see ya next Monday! - kylinwrites


	6. Ace Ventura

“Keith, you have guests!” Coran called into the breakroom. Keith’s stomach flipped nervously.

“Hey Coran, is it okay if I have lunch with them?” He asked, re-tying his apron in the process. Coran thought for a second and looked around his shoulders, making sure no one was around. 

“I’ll give you an extra thirty minutes on your break, but keep this between you and me.” He smiled and patted Keith’s shoulder.

“Yes, sir.” Keith thanked Coran and walked out onto the floor, searching for Shiro and Matt. Shiro spotted Keith first and waved to get his attention, causing his brother to notice and make his way over to the couple.

“How’s my little brother doing?” Shiro asked, giving him his iconic dad smile.

“You look so nice in that uniform!” Matt complimented. Keith wasn’t the kind of person who liked the attention, but Matt was already approved in his book and he didn’t mind it. 

“I’m doing fine and thanks, Matt.”

Shiro took a bite of an onion ring, “That’s good. So, let’s get to the details. Who’s this ‘Lance’ kid?” Shiro acted a lot like an older brother and a father combined. He always stood up for Keith, always had his back in any situation. At the same time, he was also the one who taught Keith life lessons and scolded him when he got out of line. Their relationship was special, something that Keith cherished. 

“You’ll see him in a few minutes,” Keith replied. In perfect timing, the announcement for the restaurant show played over the intercom system. Keith’s stomach flipped again as the fluke of Lance’s tail gently submerged into the water. 

“Woah, there’s mermaids!” Matt called out and took a sip of his soda. Keith’s foot tapped against the carpeted floor anxiously. 

Lance slid himself into the water, instantly coming alive. His makeup sparkled in the water, mimicking the scales of the fish swimming beside him. He began his beautiful descent into the water, meeting Plaxum in the middle of the tank. They swam together in perfect choreographed steps, somehow keeping a natural and fluid like look.

“Wow, these guys are amazing! Is Lance going to miss the show?” Shiro questioned. Keith looked at his older brother and spoke.

“That is Lance.” 

Shiro looked at Keith in disbelief, “Really?”

Keith nodded. 

“And this is how you found him, huh?” 

“Yeah. It was the first day on the job.” Keith eyeballed the onion rings.

“You got yourself a hot ass merman, my friend. Congrats.” Matt raised his drink up and clanked it against the side of Shiro’s. Keith’s face burned as he picked up an onion ring. They watched the rest of the show, Matt and his boyfriend commented on things about Lance for the sole purpose of embarrassing Keith. Who, in turn, couldn’t help but mentally agree with them. Lance was indeed a beautiful creature. 

Keith’s dreaming was interrupted when he checked the time and jumped up, “Sorry, my break’s over.” 

“No worries,” Shiro wiped his mouth with a napkin, “Did you want to come over after work? We can watch that movie tonight.” 

“Sure, I don't see a problem with that.” Keith adjusted his collar. 

“Oh, can you check on our food too, thank you, Keith!” Matt requested before doing something to make Shiro laugh. Keith smiled at them and looked up at the glass tank where Lance happily swam through the water. 

___

 

“Keith, can I have a word with you?” Coran stood in front of Keith, who had just finished his shift.

“Yes, sir,” Keith closed his locker and followed his boss into his office. 

“Please, sit down.” The mustached man referred to the chair in front of a wooden desk. The office was modestly decorated, painted in calm blues and creamy tans to replicate the colors of the ocean. Pictures of Coran’s family were neatly framed on his desk. One, in particular, stood out to Keith, the photo showed Coran standing beside Allura in front of the aquarium’s entrance. Allura looked younger as if she were about to start her first job. Keith couldn’t help but smile at the picture of Shiro’s parents making goofy faces at the camera. Keith remembered that night, it was Shiro and his first night home alone. They watched Sword in the Stone for the twentieth time and made a huge blanket fort afterward, pretending it was the castle from the movie. Shiro always played as Merlin, while Keith was King Arthur. It was a memory he will never forget.

Meanwhile, Keith came back to reality when Coran mentioned his name.

“Keith, there have been some reports of an employee getting a little out of hand here. Have you experienced anything of the sort? Don’t be afraid to tell me, lad.”

Keith remembered the months Sendak picked on him. Even though he knew Coran was mentioning him, Keith wasn’t a snitch. 

“No, I haven't, sir.”

Coran looked at him seriously for a moment, trying to read Keith’s expression, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, sir.” 

“Well, then that’s all I needed. Stay safe and have a fantastic rest of your night. If anything does happen though, please don’t be afraid to report it.” Coran walked him to the door. Keith said goodbye to the old man and walked out into the summer night air. 

_ _ _

(6:30 pm) Lance: Hey Keith   
(6:32 pm) Lance: Keith  
(6:36 pm) Lance: Keeeiitthhh are you off your shift yet I'm DYING

(6:40 pm) Keith: Drama King much

(6:41 pm) Lance: HE’S ALIVE   
(6:41 pm) Lance: So I have a question

(6:43 pm) Keith: Hm?

(6:44 pm) Lance: Do you want to come to this boring meeting thing at the college about some sort of bus project? There’s gonna be tons of free food and I forgot to get groceries for this week

(6:44 pm) Keith: Sounds like a great time, but I have plans tonight already. Sorry, Lance. 

(6:45 pm) Lance: Oh, okay :’(   
(6:45 pm) Lance: More pizza for me then, loser hehe

(6:47 pm) Keith: Why are you like this?   
(6:47 pm) Keith: :) 

Keith’s chest felt warm and fluttery again. He hated that he loved the feeling.  
_ _ _

Allura refilled the water and pellet bowls of the avian exhibits, gently talking to each bird she visited. As much as she loved the birds, but her main focus was the tiger. He was king of the rainforest exhibit. Despite his intimidating nature, Alfor was a kitten at heart. He played with toys the local community groups put together and donated and loved to cool down in his pool. When she carried a bucket of meat to his cage, she placed the cuts into a silver dish and slid it into his environment. He lingered around until she closed the hatch, then he began to eat his meal. No one was allowed directly in his exhibit unless it was an emergency or he was secured in his hideaway for maintenance routines. Alfor eventually learned to recognize Allura and would walk up close to her when she was near the glass. 

Allura watched him eat for a moment before cleaning and storing away the meat bucket. Rolo, the new exhibit trainee, tapped her shoulder. 

“Hey Allura, where are the crickets?”

“In a black container on the second shelf in the food storage closet.”

“Got it, thanks.” He walked out of the supply room, leaving Allura alone. She double checked to make sure everything was in place before locking it up. Rolo stood on a ladder over the Archer Fishtank. Every few seconds, a stream of water shot out at his hand and he released the cricket from his two fingers, letting the fish eat its catch.

Allura made her rounds, feeding fish in various tanks and cleaning up the touch pool. She gently touched the starfish and horseshoe crabs with the flat part of her bent finger before placing the protective glass over it. Once everything was successfully closed up, she said goodnight to Alfor and turned off the lights. 

Lotor waited for her outside. He pulled the rubber band out of his hair, letting the manicured locks fall down his back. 

“Ready to go, Ace Ventura?” He teased. 

“Only in your dreams, Rapunzel.” She teased back and walked with him to his car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small chapter this week. It's setting up for next week's chapter, which is going to be a BIG one and worth the wait, I promise you. 
> 
> Find me on Instagram @kylinart where I draw lots of fanart and post fic updates. (It would be a dream to see some fanart for this fic *cough*). Feel free to drop by and say hello, my DM is always open.


	7. Underwater

(10:12 am) Lance: Yo Keithy boi

(10:14 am) Keith:Hm?

(10:14 am) Lance: you wanna go do something with me today? i'm bored and Hunk is too busy to hang out 

(10:15 am) Keith:Uh, sure. What time? 

(10:17 am) Lance: how abbboouutt i’ll pick you up at one???

(10:17 am) Keith: Sounds good. 

“Lance?” Hunk poked his head in, finding Lance face down on his bed clutching a pillow. His roomate looked up. 

“Yes, my best most handsome friend?”

“Are you okay?” Hunk questioned. Lance dropped his head into the pillow again and mumbled.

“Mhmmmhm.”

“I don't understand pillow.”

“Mmmmmmmhmmmmhmmm.”

“Lance.”

“Fine, I’mhangingoutwithkeithtoday.” Lance buried head into his pillow again.

Hunk’s wonderful smile lit up his face, “That’s awesome! Now I don’t have to see you pout all day”

“Shush!” 

Hunk laughed as he walked out of Lance’s room. A few moments passed and Hunk came running back, “YOU HAVE THE PHOTOSHOOT TODAY.”

Lance shot his head up, “Are you fucking serious? Today!?”

“You better get up and get ready right now!” Hunk left the room, giving Lance his privacy to get ready. Lance threw on a T-Shirt with an image of a surfer on the front and some blue swimming trunks. During his frantic morning routine, he called Keith.

“Hello?” The other boy picked up after a few rings. 

“Okay, so I goofed up and forgot I had an important photo shoot today.”

“Oh, okay. If you need we can cancel-”

“Wait what? No no no, actually, I wanted to see if you want to still tag along?”

The line was quiet for a moment and Lance felt even more nervous than he already was. He opened his closet and gently pulled out his mermaid tail.

Keith finally spoke,“Do I need to bring anything?” 

Lance’s stomach performed a somersault and his lips curled into a smile.

“Just something to swim in.”

“Alright, see you later.” 

___

“So, you’re telling me that you used to go to the Garrison?” Lance looked at Keith for a second. The ocean coast reflected off his aviator sunglasses and made the moment almost surreal. Keith liked the way they looked on Lance, complementing his chestnut hair and tan skin. The car ride started off a little awkward but the silence broke after Lance gasped at a song playing on the radio and turned it up. He rapped to a part of the song in Spanish, thus striking the start of their conversation, one that neglected to follow a straight path, but instead branched off in every direction they could think of. At first it was about languages, then it was about childhood homes, where Lance learned about Keith’s adoptive parents and Shiro, then it carried onto the topic of moving to Altea, where Keith learned that Lance’s family lives in Cuba and he came up here for school. 

“I only went for about a year though,” Keith admitted.

“Still! Wait, what did you go for?”

“Zoology, I didn't know what to do with my life and I liked animals.”

“Oh my god what time was the class!?”

“I don’t see where this is going, but it was the ten o’clock one.”

“WE ALMOST HAD THE SAME CLASS! MINE WAS THE ONE AFTER!” Lance practically screamed.

“Wait, really?” Keith gave the other boy a questioning look, “Why were you taking it?”

“Lancey Lance here wanted to be a marine biologist.” He pointed his thumb at himself. Keith’s attention went from Lance’s thumb to his hair and how it flipped around in the wind from the open windows. His own hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

“Why’d you stop?”

“I quit so I could be a mermaid and honestly, it was the best decision of my life.” Lance smiled and reached into the backseat to pat his tail. 

Keith looked back at it, “What made you want to become a performer?” 

“Okay, so I’m gonna be real right now, but I used to watch the movie Splash over and over and over again as a kid. I secretly collected mermaid trinkets and dolls and hid them in my dresser. Well, one day my mom came in the room and the drawer was open…”

Lance paused for a dramatic effect.

“I came home that day from school and saw that she had hung up all of the pictures I cut out and displayed all of my dolls on top of my dresser. From then on, I had been more open about my passion for mermaids. It wasn’t ‘normal’ for a boy to like those kinds of things.”

Lance’s story touched Keith’s heart. He understood how good it felt to be accepted. 

Lance took a breath, “While I was at the Garrison, Pidge was working, and still is, in the aquarium’s gift shop when she sent me a picture of the ad. That day I walked right out of class. I loved that class, don’t get me wrong, but I just had that gut feeling, like it was something I desperately needed, you know?”

Keith knew. The dark haired boy couldn’t help but smile.

Lance continued, “I walked in and talked to the manager myself, filled out the application and that was that. I was hired and trained, both in and out of the aquarium.” Lance looked over at Keith, who in turn smiled. 

“I like that story.”

___

Lance’s silver car pulled into the parking lot of a photography center. A banner in the front depicted a woman underwater, her red dress flowing effortlessly around her. Underneath her wrote, “Underwater Photography: The New Kind of Art.” Keith climbed out of the car and watched as Lance pulled out his tail and handed Keith a drawstring backpack. Immediately, they were welcomed by a woman around their age. She introduced herself as Shay and led them into the building. Inside was a clean and beautifully designed lobby, displaying various professionally done photos of people, to which Keith studied carefully. Shay checked them in while Lance explained to Keith that he was sponsored by Mamora to do the advertisement posters. They followed Shay into another part of the building, this time it was a huge pool room. Another girl was suiting up into a wetsuit and preparing diving gear. Two specially made cameras sat on the floor, towels underneath them. When Keith looked back at Lance, he was already setting his tail on a towel and taking off his shirt. Keith’s face burned.

“Keith, can you hold this mirror up for me?” Lance asked. Keith nodded and held up a portable mirror, which Lance turned on and bright lights lit up his face. The Cuban boy started applying his makeup and smiled when he caught Keith’s curious eyes staring at him. Once he dusted his shoulders and cheeks with waterproof glitter, he topped it off with his forehead tiara. Next came the tail and poor Keith wasn't expecting to see Lance strip down into blue speedo shorts. Keith covered his mouth with his hand, trying his best to make it look casual and looked away. Lance smirked, catching his reaction and began strapping the monofin around his feet. Once the tail was on, Lance inched his way to the edge of the warm pool and gently let his fluke submerge into the calm water. He patted the empty tile next to him and Keith sat down, letting his legs dip into the water. 

Seeing Lance’s tail up close was better than he ever imagined. He now saw the precision in the paint and how realistic the scales looked, everything crafted to perfection.

“You can touch my tail if you want.” Lance offered. Keith hesitantly reached out and let his fingertips run along the scales. The expression on his face was priceless, it was as if Keith was a little kid going to Disneyland for the first time. 

“We are all ready to go!” Shay announced. She wore her wetsuit and strapped on a diving mask. The other girl threw Keith a pair of goggles before submerging into the water. Lance took a deep breath and slid into the water, effortlessly swimming over the underwater set. Keith stripped himself of his shirt and slid the goggles over his eyes before letting the water consume him.

There in the pool with him, was the merman that Keith fell for. Lance natural posed every few seconds, one second he was blowing a kiss to the camera and the second he was playing with a bubble. This merman was curious and playful, all the while being beautifully mesmerizing and Keith couldn’t even begin to know how that was possible. 

Keith swam back up to the surface for air, growing a greater respect for how long Lance could hold his breath for. When the merman eventually did visit the surface, he caught his breath and took in another one before going back down, his fluke sending a splash of water up into the air. Keith went back down with him and held onto the side ladder to keep him from floating up. Lance looked in Keith’s direction and smiled just in time for the camera to flash. Keith’s heart pounded in his chest, not just from the lack of oxygen. 

The photo shoot ended and Lance had just gotten himself out of his tail. Keith didn’t dare look at the speedo shorts again when Lance stood up and started drying himself off. Keith did the same with a different towel. 

“We’ll go through these, pick the best ones and send them off to Mamora,” Shay informed. Lance talked with her for a bit before he put on his shirt and pants. Keith could finally breathe again. Lance backed everything else up and thanked the ladies again. Keith trailed behind him.

“Alright,” Lance clapped his hands together, “now we can have a little fun.” 

“Where are we going?” Keith asked as he buckled himself up. Lance closed his door and smirked at Keith.

“It’s a surprise.” 

___

Laughter rippled through Keith in the most joyous way. Lance covered his face and wiped away the tears falling from the corner of his eyes. The two boys sat inside a small diner on the side of the road, overlooking the ocean. They both knew they were miles away from home, but it didn’t stop them from going into the next town over. Keith tried to calm himself down from the fit of laughter but was unsuccessful when another round ripped through him. 

“Did you really do that at your Prom?!” Keith wheezed.

“Shush!”

“No, this is gold. So you’re telling me you snuck into a pool, drunk off your ass, and reenacted Jack’s death scene from Titanic with a dolphin pool floaty?”

“I played a damn good Rose that night don’t judge me!” 

They both snorted out a last fit of laughter before the waitress came with their bill. Keith paid, as thanks to Lance, and they continued on their little trip. Lance turned up the song playing on the radio and sang to it, something Keith wouldn’t ever forget the sound of. The ocean spread out in front of them as if it was a stairway to heaven. The endless waves reflected the splashes of oranges and pinks taking over the sky as the sun took its lasts breaths. They drew closer and closer to the ocean and Keith could hear it in between songs.

When Lance parked his car in a worn out parking lot, he reached over into the back seat and grabbed a beach bag.

“Are we going to the beach?” Keith asked, looking back at the assortment of items taking over the backseat. “Why do you have blue lion slippers?”

“Hey!” Lance picked up the slippers, “I was looking for those!”

“Why are they in your car?” 

“Pidge and I had a spa day once and I guess I forgot they were in here.” Lance shrugged his shoulders and placed the slippers down, “Follow me.”

Keith did as Lance requested. The two boys walked through the warm sand until they stopped at the shoreline, where Keith watched the water desperately reach for his feet, only to be swept away by the current. The sound was nothing like he had ever hear. The crashing of waves was loud and almost scary, but oddly calming at the same time. Keith felt Lance nudge his shoulder, breaking him out of the trance. 

“Race you to the water!” He smirked. 

“Oh, you’re on.” 

They both ran into the oncoming waves, enveloping them in its warm water. Lance splashed the hell out of Keith, who fought back, soaking Lance in the process. Lance laugh and dove into the water effortlessly. Keith walked out farther, trying to spot Lance in the clear blue water. Just before he lifted his foot up to go in further, both of his feet were tugged on, causing him to fall right back into the water. Keith pushed himself back up to the surface, where Lance was already laughing. Keith threw his whole body into the other boy, causing them to both go crashing down into the water. Even as they reached the surface, Keith didn’t let go of Lance’s arm until they started swimming back to shore. Lance stripped off his wet shirt and so did Keith, tossing them onto the sandy beach. The Cuban boy dug through his bag, pulling out two pairs of goggles and handed one to Keith.

“Put them on, I want to show you something.” Lance smiled. They dipped the goggles into the water and placed it over their eyes, making sure they were secured. Lance grabbed Keith’s hand, sending an electric feeling shooting up Keith’s arm. The boys walked further and further into the water. Lance stopped and held his breath before slowly diving into the water. Keith mimicked him and let the water swallow him up. 

When Keith opened his eyes, he was breathless, quite literally at the moment, but nevertheless, purely awestruck. 

Colonies of brightly colored fish swam around rocks and sea vegetation. Lance glided through the water, pointing out peculiar looking fish. He spotted a group of sea urchin huddled by rocks, half submerged in the sand. Keith was the one to point out a bright red fish swimming under them. As much as Keith tried to keep up with Lance, he kept having to come up to the surface for air. Damn Lance and his incredible ability to hold his breath for long periods of time. 

They two boys eventually swam back to the shoreline. 

Lance took off his goggles, “So, whaddya think?” 

“It was… ” Keith had no words at this point, except for one, “beautiful.”

“Beautiful?” Lance looked at Keith and smiled, “I like that word.”

Keith watched Lance in the pale dusk light. He let his eyes look at Lance’s shirtless figure. He had seen him topless before, in all of his performances, but not in this way or in this light. 

“Keith, can I do something?” 

The dark haired boy shifted his gaze back up to Lance’s blue eyes and nodded. Lance walked over and held Keith’s hand again, leading him back into the water. 

“Okay, do you trust me?” Lance questioned as they walked deeper and deeper in. 

“Yes.” 

“Close your eyes.”

“What?” 

“Close them. We are gonna go under the water, but keep them closed until I tell you to open them.”

“Okay…” Keith closed his eyes. 

“On the count of three, we both go into the water. One, two, three…” 

They both dipped into the water. Keith felt Lance’s hand caress the side of his cheek and his other hand reaching for his back. Keith wrapped his arms around Lance’s neck and pulled him closer as if he was afraid the ocean would take Lance away from him. 

Then Keith felt Lance’s lips press against his. 

 

Keith knew, he just knew, that he had fallen hopelessly, stupidly, incredibly, and deeply in love with Lance Mcclain. 

___

Keith woke up the next morning entirely not ready for work. As he came back to his senses, the events from last night played over and over again in his head. He pressed his fingertips to his lips.

Lance and he kissed. They were in the ocean and they kissed. He remembered that. He also remembered them driving home, having to stop a couple times to kiss each other more and more. It was an addiction to kiss Lance’s lips. They didn’t make it back to Keith’s apartment until one this morning. Keith gave Lance a long goodbye kiss, mapping every curve of Lance’s lips and committing it to memory before he walked back to his apartment, alone. 

Now, Keith was running on five hours of sleep and a brand new feeling inside him. He went through his morning routine, taking a shower and remembering how the ocean water felt on his skin when Lance kissed him. He got dressed and left for work an hour later. In his car, he put in a tape deck Shiro and him made as a kid, a childhood mixtape, and turned it up. A smile didn’t leave Keith’s lips until he got to Marmora, where he sat and listened to the music coming from his stereo. The butterflies violently abused his stomach. He was going to walk in there and see Lance perform and he was nervous and excited and overall a mess.

Finally building up the courage, he closed his car door and walked up to the employee entrance. He dropped his stuff off in the locker and tied on his apron. When he walked out into the floor, he was greeted by Sendak picking on Amy, one of the waitresses. Keith rolled up his sleeves when Sendak spotted him. Amy had enough time to run back into the kitchen. Keith gave him a nasty look as a warning. Sendak only smirked and continued prepping tables. When Keith walked past him, Sendak shot out his leg and caused Keith to trip and fall to the ground. The world’s colors flashed in front of him and he tried to catch himself only to have his left wrist snap back too far and he screamed in pain. Sendak laughed.

“What is your fucking deal!” Keith spat and pulled himself up. 

“Fuckheads like you don’t belong here.” Sendak hissed.

“What. Did. You. Say?” Anger consumed Keith. He felt it in his blood, heating up his fingertips. 

“I said,” Sendak got closer, “ Fu-”

Keith’s fist collided into Sendak’s jaw, his eyes filled with pure rage. Sendak growled and punched Keith in the gut, sending him to double over. Sendak went to knee Keith in the face, but Keith moved in time and sent another punch to his enemy. They knocked over a chair and some drinking glasses, hearing them shatter when they hit the floor. 

“STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!” Coran yelled, but Keith kept fighting. His anger built up even more with every hit he got on Sendak. Keith missed a punch, causing sharp pain to rip through his body as Sendak rammed him into the wall. Keith shut his eyes and screamed in pain again before kicking Sendak right where it hurts. 

“KEITH STOP IT!” 

Keith looked over at the source of the voice and saw Lance, tears flooding out the precious freckles on his cheeks.

 

If Keith’s anger wasn’t so hungry, he would have stopped everything he was doing right that second. Instead, he ignored Lance’s plea.

Before Keith could swing another punch, Lance reached up and held Keith’s arm back. 

“PLEASE STOP THIS!”

“GET AWAY FROM ME!” Keith harshly ripped his arm out of Lance’s hands and turned away.

 

Lance felt everything inside him go numb.

Lance felt his whole world collapse in front of him. 

Lance felt his poor heart shatter.

Lance was already running out the door. 

 

Keith’s eyes widened in realization, the memory of him snapping at Lance played over and over again and hurt more than any physical pain he felt now. 

Sendak threw one last punch and caused Keith to blackout.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith punched Sendak


	8. Broken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for a late update! I tried to get it up yesterday but things happened.

“Careful, Keith.” 

“I know, alright?” Shiro helped Keith sit up and lean back on a pile of propped up pillows. He felt pain radiating through his body with every wrong turn. Cautiously, Shiro laid a food tray over his brother’s lep.

“How do you feel?”

“Broken.”

“I imagine that’s what broken bones would feel like.”

“Hm.” It wasn’t the only thing that made him feel helplessly shattered inside. Dismissing the unwanted thought, he began to pick at his food.

___

His dreams were constant nightmares. The feeling of them never seemed to go away when Keith opened his eyes. They were always about Lance. From their kiss to the moment Keith snapped at him. It made him feel horribly sick and mad and overwhelmed every time he heard Lance’s voice in his head.

“Keith?”

Keith didn’t realize he was crying. He numbly looked up at Shiro and began to sob. Shiro’s warm embrace enveloped Keith as he cried and cried and cried. 

“He’s gone,” Keith sobbed.

“Shhh, it’s okay. He’s not gone, I promise.”

“Yes he is, I hurt him and he’s not coming back,” His uninjured hand grasped the back of Shiro’s shirt tightly. He was afraid. 

“Give it time, Keith. Remember what I always used to tell you?” 

Keith didn’t answer. Even with Shiro’s calming words, he couldn’t bring himself to say it. 

___

Every day was hell. Staying over at Shiro’s house had its perks, of course. He got to be closer to his brother, for starters, and he liked playing Uno with Matt. He liked how warm the house felt and he liked hearing other people living in it, compared to the constant silence of his apartment. Maybe he could just live here and block out the world for another few years. 

God that sounded melodramatic. 

On the other hand, that idea doesn't sound half bad right now. 

Every minute that passed by felt like hours. He caught himself staring at Lance’s contact info multiple times, debating on texting him or not. He probably didn’t want anything to do with Keith. He didn’t blame him. 

___

A week passed since the fight and Keith decided to call Lance. 

The phone rang...

and rang...

and rang…

and then it went to voicemail.

___

The next day, Keith decided to text him. He ended up just staring at an empty message bar, not having a clue what to write and turned his phone off. 

___

Coran came over and told Keith that he had to fire him. Apparently, there were rules to getting into fights at work.

___

Three days after he tried calling and still no reply. Keith sat in the shower, letting the hot water hit his back as another sob ripped through him. 

Keith wasn’t afraid to admit that A.) He was at his all-time low and B.) He had never broken down this bad before and C.) It was Lance’s fault for D.) Making Keith fall in love with him.

___

Keith’s phone rang at two in the morning. His eyes shot open as he reached for it and answered the call. 

“Lance?”

A boy on the other end shocked out a sob.

“Lance?! Are you okay?!”

“Keith, can you pick me up?”

“Yes, where are you?”

“I’m in front of the aquarium.”

“I’ll be right there.” Keith disconnected the call. 

“SHIRO!” Not a moment later Shiro came running into the room. 

“What’s wrong?! Do I need to call an ambulance?!”

“We need to pick up Lance right now!”

___

Shiro’s car pulled up in front of the aquarium. Keith jumped out as fast as he could and ignored the pain throbbing in his hand. He ran-limped to the boy sitting on a painted bench. 

Lance stood up and ran after Keith.

When the two boys met, they held each other as tightly as they could manage, Lance being careful in case Keith had any injuries. Lance’s crying rang in Keith’s ear. 

“I’m so sorry,” Keith cried into Lance’s shoulder, “I’m so so so sorry.” 

Lance stayed silent, not able to find the words and say them. He just needed the numbness to go away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter again. Thank you so much for all of the feedback I've been getting! This fic is neering the end, I'd say maybe one or two more updates left. I am, however, working on another fic that I'm sure you all will enjoy. See you on the next update!


	9. Ocean Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter, here we go ya'll.

The dark haired boy woke up to Lance’s head gently resting on his chest. He hesitated, trying to make sense of the scene before tracing his fingers through Lance’s chestnut hair. When Lance finally opened his eyes, he looked up at Keith and moved his head off him. 

“Good morning.” Keith greeted gently. Lance sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“I’m ready to tell you what happened,” Lance spoke. Keith sat up carefully and nodded, taking Lance’s hand in his. 

“Whenever you’re ready,” Keith reassured. 

“When you snapped at me, I felt… hopeless. I worried so much about you and I spent days with my thoughts going in endless spirals. I guess I overreacted. I thought you were mad at me. I felt-” He broke out into a fit of tears. Keith held out his arms, letting Lance gently curl up against the dark-haired boy’s chest. “I felt so alone.” 

“Lance,” Keith said in almost a whisper, “I’m so sorry. I should have never hurt you like that.” He tightened his arms around Lance in an attempt to comfort his lover. “I’m so sorry.” 

Lance sniffed, then took a deep breath, “I’m sorry too. I should have called you or at least texted to see if you were okay.” 

“I’m better now that you’re here,” Keith smiled and kissed Lance’s forehead. They both held onto each other, knowing this was where they were meant to be. 

___

“So, I finally get to meet the merman Keith has been fantasizing about for the past five months.” Matt teased. Both Keith and Lance's faces grew pink. 

“Sorry, Matt is a little extra.” Shiro apologized and pulled out a pizza from the oven. The sound of sizzling cheese cased Lance’s stomach to growl.

“Tell me about it.” Keith joked and nudged his boyfriend playfully. Shiro placed the pizza in the middle of the table and began cutting out slices. 

“The name’s Lance and yes, I do admit I’m a damn fine fish.” He joked. 

“I can sea that.” Matt giggled at his own pun. 

Lance smirked. “You’re just shellfish.”

“Whatever tides you over.” 

“Oh my god please stop or I’ll lose my ship.” Keith interjected, causing a fit of laughter to erupt from the others. 

___

**-Three Months Later-**

“Come on, it’s not cold!” 

“Fish swim in the ocean! That can be cold!” Keith reluctantly crouched on the catwalk, overlooking the top of the tank. Lance sat next to him, tail gently drifting in the water. 

“It’s 74 degrees Fahrenheit exactly. That’s not bad.” Lance splashed a little water up at Keith. He gave the merman a look that resembled a grumpy cat. 

“Fine.” Keith gave in and dipped his legs into the water, “But what if a fish comes up and eats my leg off?”

“That’s not going to happen, trust me.” Lance finished his sentence by sliding into the water, coming back up to the surface in front of Keith. “I gotta practice.” 

“Okay, merman.” Keith watched Lance dive under the water, effortlessly surrendering to the water.

**-One Year Later-**

After getting fired from the aquarium, Keith went back into searching for a job. He applied to many places but got turned down one after another. Then he found his calling one day when he was on an aquarium date with Lance. A flier for diving lessons caught Keith’s eye and he immediately went to Allura about it. 

While Keith was away from the aquarium, Alfor, the tiger, had passed away peacefully in his sleep. Allura held a remembrance/life celebration for him and invited Keith, who came and got to see all of his old coworkers, minus Sendak who was fired as well.

After a month of training, Keith was an official Marmora diver and landed a job with it. He cleaned the tanks, set up exhibits, and even helped the mermaids. Keith still can’t get over how he felt watching Lance perform up close. Occasionally, Lance would drag Keith in on his practice days for outside critique, where Keith got to do what he saw all of the little kids do and pressed his hands against the glass. Lance swam up to his lover and smiled at him through the glass. He pressed his hands on the opposite side and made a goofy face. Keith laughed and watched as Lance blew playful bubbles at him before continuing his practice. 

While Keith was working on his diving certification, Lance made a decision of his own to continue studying Marine Biology. To make it happen, Lance went down to part-time work, doing one to two shows a day and ran a successful youtube channel promoting the Marmora Aquarium’s Mermaids. 

_ _ _

Keith nervously stood on the catwalk above the tunnel exhibit tank. The sea turtle, Lance informed whose name was “Maui”, happily swam around the surface. Keith adjusted his wetsuit on his body and began setting up his diving gear. 

“Keith!”

The dark haired boy looked over his shoulder to see the merman he had fallen in love with being wheeled in. Keith smiled and started fitting his mask on. He lowered himself onto the platform and sank his flippers and legs into the water. 

“Wait, let me kiss you.” Lance leaned down and kissed the outside of Keith’s mask. Keith blew him a return kiss before sliding into the water. 

 

Lance submerged himself into the water and began his show. Keith watched all of the little kids dance in little spurts of excitement and pressed their hands against the glass to attract the merman’s attention. Lance looked like he belonged to the water. He gracefully swam alongside the marine life, as if they were family. Keith loved that about Lance. 

At the end of the night, the couple snuck back out onto the tank where they dove into the water. Lance had pu on his tail and Keith in his diving suit. There, in the privacy of the closing aquarium, they danced among the fish. Lance interlocked their hands together and swam around the diver, making them spin in slow circles. Keith looked into Lance’s eyes and realized that Lance wasn’t only a lover of the ocean, but that it was a part of him. He was the ocean and Keith was drowning in those Ocean Eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to say thank you for all of the support I had while writing this fic. Every comment you guys made, every view, every Kudo, every bookmark, it all made this fic a special one for me. I want to apologize if the ending of this story seemed rushed, I didn't have any ideas on where to go next and I also wanted it to be short. 
> 
> I am happy to announce that a full-blown Titanic AU is in production right now and I can't wait to share it! It will update every Monday, but I'm taking a break next Monday. 
> 
> Stay safe, Stay unique, and don't forget to show some appreciation to merfolk performers out there. - kylinwrites


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